Andrew Garfield Says His Comments About Being Gay Were Taken out of Context

Andrew Garfield wants to clear up a few things he’s said about being a gay man.

In a panel discussion back in early July, as Garfield talked about preparing for the play Angels in America, the British-American actor said, “My only time off during rehearsals — every Sunday I would have eight friends over and we would just watch [RuPaul’s Drag Race]. This is my life outside of this play. I am a gay man right now, just without the physical act — that’s all.”

Garfield insists that the quote was taken out of context by the media, and as a result, people were offended because they felt he had simplified what it means to be gay.

“That’s of course not what I meant at all. That discussion was about this play and how deeply grateful I am that I get to work on something so profound.” Garfield continues, “It’s a love letter to the LGBTQ community. We were talking about, ‘How do you prepare for something so important and so big?’ and I was basically saying, ‘I dive in as fully as I possibly can.’”

The actor admitted that he was originally hesitant to take on the iconic role of Prior Walter, but finally agreed to play the character after the show’s writer, Tony Kushner, asked him to to do so. In spite of the controversy, Garfield maintains that he hopes he properly represents the LGBTQ community:

“My only longing is to serve and to keep the world spinning forward for the LGBTQ community in whatever way I’m meant to. … The intention [in my comments] was to speak to that, speak to my desire to play this part to the best of my ability and to fully immerse myself in a culture that I adore.”